Bishop J. D. Husband
'Bishop John Dale Husband '(born: 1928 - died 1991) was a bishop and General Board member of the Church of God in Christ. He was one of the most controversial clergymen in all of the history of the church, because he was often accused of being a homosexual and was accused of molesting a young man named Tobias Fox as well. Early Life He was born June 9, 1928 in the town of Foxworth in Marion County, Mississippi (about 35 miles west of Hattiesburg), the sixth of ten children born to Charles Husband and Viola Barnes.<<< Controversial COGIC Leadership Bishop Husband became the Bishop of the South Central Georgia Jurisdiction in 1963, after the death of Bishop James L. Hinsley. Also in the 1960's, Bishop Husband was elected to the General Board of the Church of God in Christ. In the 1970s, the General Board and the General Assembly of the COGIC accused Bishop Husband of illegally embezzling over $500,000 of church money, to which this action drew much criticism from the members of the COGIC. Also in the 70s, Bishop Husband was accused of being involved in many lesbian and gay sex scandals. It was also at this time that his wife divorced him for being unfaithful to her. According to one of the former leaders of the COGIC Missions Department, some people held Bishop Husband in great esteem because he was one of the original leaders of the COGIC who helped to organize the church as an ecclesiastical religious organization, but at the same time, many COGIC bishops "despised" him. Bishop L.H. Ford was secretly rumored to have been one of the main bishops who wanted to expell and excommunicate J.D. Husband from the Church of God in Christ clergy. According to a Texas COGIC clergyman, his homosexuality was no secret in the church, yet the people overlooked it and allowed him to continue on in the ministry and to speak at the International Holy Convocations in Memphis. Also, in the 1980's, Bishop Husband was accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with several other married COGIC women and having many children with them out of wedlock. He was also rumored to have engaged in sexual intercourse with many young men in the COGIC. In 1981, Bishop Husband molested a young man named Tobias Fox at a Memphis meeting. Later on that year, when Tobias confessed that Bishop Husband had committed the terrible crime (he was scared to tell anyone because he thought Bishop Husband would come back looking to molest him again), Gwendolyn Fox, Tobias' mother complained about it to the General Board of the church and petitioned the COGIC leadership. She also contacted popular talk show hosts like Oprah Winfrey about Bishop Husband's indecency. Finally, an urgent, mandatory meeting was called for the General Board, the Board of Bishops, and the General Assembly to discuss the allegations of Bishop Husband's indecency in the church and at the meeting, because many people who supported J. D. Husband threatened to kill Gwendolyn Fox because they thought "what she said was all lies and was all blasphemy against God and heresy against the church", police were ordered to stay inside and outside the building to protect everyone. Bishop Husband pleaded "not guilty" to any of the allegations against him. At the end of the meeting, all of the charges the church brought against him were dismissed after his attorney convinced the church leaders to do so. In 1991, Bishop Husband, after being involved in another sex scandal, finally submitted a formal letter to the leaders of the COGIC in which he pleaded "guilty to all the charges and allegations the Churches of God in Christ brought against him." The General Board and the General Assembly met once again and officially expelled and excommunicated Bishop J. D. Husband from the COGIC and the COGIC clergy. Bishop J. D. Husband finally died later that year from unpublicized causes. External Links *http://cogicabusewatch.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/black-out-the-abridged-story-of-bishop-jd-husband/ Category:General Board Members